The news before Christmas that work is finally underway on Cambridge's long-awaited ice rink delighted many people – and there was drama on the building site a few weeks ago when unexploded grenades were found there.

Hopefully, the 340-seater rink, near the Newmarket Road Park and Ride site, will be open by this coming autumn.

In the meantime, if weather conditions permit, we can make do with our local farmland – or who knows, maybe even the River Cam?

In winters past, when temperatures have plummeted, some waterlogged Cambridgeshire fields have traditionally been turned into a skaters’ paradise.

When they returned to England they held a skating display, and in Cambridgeshire, the Dutch engineers working with Cornelius Vermuyden on the huge fen drainage project began to stage races too.

The racing technique used was similar to that of modern-day speed skating – crouching low, hands held behind the back, covering the distance with long, sweeping strokes – and as well as races, ice hockey matches were staged too.

And for those who didn’t want to compete, there was the social aspect.

Having an ice time: “It takes ice to meet old friends” is an old Fen saying